Domingo Zapata talks with Jonn Nubian
New York’s largest Mural, painted on vinyl, covers One Times Square with pop art excitement. Artist Domingo Zapata talked with our friend, YRB mag’s Jonn Nubian, about it.
By David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
As executive editor at YRB, Nubian’s interviews bring art to where it’s more easily understood. His talk with Hudson Yards artist Kadir Nelson, last spring, is also an earlier example.
In a recent issue, Domingo Zapata engages in a conversation with Nubian about creating the largest vinyl mural ever to grace New York City. Meanwhile, his work is already in place. It rests complete in the background.
For over 20 years Zapata has built a body of work, which varies significantly in motif, though consistently explores themes of sexuality, opulence, and vitality in his signature style.
Domingo Zapata website
Zapata’s, New York’s largest mural, covers the walls of One Times Square. It is “a journey about my life and dreams, but not just mine, anyone’s dreams,” he tells Nubian.
Six months after building owner Jamestown contacted Zapata, it’s live. Suspended on a scaffold, Zapata worked from 9:00 until 6:30 daily.
In January 2020, Jamestown donates New York’s largest mural to New York City non-profits, Scholas Occurrentes and Elevate New York. It will be cut up into small pieces for greater impact.
Read Jonn Nubian’s feature interview with Domingo Zapata here.
What the Promenade Remembers
The light on the East River in the early morning is different from the light anywhere else on the Island. It comes in low and sideways, catching the water in long, uneven flashes. On certain days it makes the promenade feel less like a walkway and more like a corridor someone once meant to finish but never quite did. When I was younger I found the suggestion to stop and look at it faintly ridiculous.
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